Travel Stories Podcast | Stories of adventure, freedom and backpacking and (currently) following Hayden on his motorcycle around every country in Mainland Europe!

Bringing you stories of wonder and adventure, from world travel tales to digital nomad life to backpacker fun, Travel Stories Podcast seeks to inspire.
From the seasoned adventurer to the wanderluster alike, travelers in over 170 countries tune into Travel Stories Podcast each week for inspirational stories and interviews.

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Learning how to trust is something only you can teach yourself how to do. It can be one of the most important things that you will encounter during travel, but encounter it you must. Who do you trust in this world, though? Can you trust someone you’ve only known for a matter of seconds? How can you trust that you’re going to make the right decision? Hayden introduces Nate Buchanan of Kara and Nate to help him answer these questions and more.

Nate Buchanan is famously from the travel vlog Kara and Nate, being one half of the titular pair - the other half being his wife, Kara. The two of them are looking to travel to 100 countries by 2019. In addition to this, Nate is also an expert in travel hacking. In this episode, Hayden and Nate discuss to plan or not to plan, as well as the importance of being a bucket list maker. They also talk about how Nate became a travel vlogger, and how important accountability and documentation are to his lifestyle and to travel.

Nate’s story is based in the Philippines, and which he has titled, spectacularly and simply titled: ‘The Cave.’ In it, he features the island of Siargao, the concept of motorbikes, an adventure under the sea, and, of course, the titular cave itself. Adventure is lurking around every corner; as Nate proves, you just have to be willing to trust yourself, those around you, and the adventure itself in order to access the deepest reaches of it. Much like Nate and Kara accessed the deepest reaches of the cave.

Hayden, of course, takes advantage of the motorbike portion of the story to weave a tale or two of his own, from his journeys on motorbikes to his adventures in Saigon. Hayden brings up trust in travel, too, and how to know you can trust your own decisions, which Nate relates to his own gut feelings. Nate also shares some travel hacks, as well as what travel hacking is and how even the simplest and least informed of travelers can travel hack.

Trusting in yourself and others is a leap, not a baby step. It takes time to reach the point of being able to trust yourself to trust others and to trust your own gut. A long road though it may be, Kara, Nate, and Hayden are all living proof that it is a doable and, when achieved, worthwhile task. Trust in them. Trust in yourself. Trust in travel.

0:57 - Hayden introduces Nate Buchanan, one half of the travel-blogging duo Kara and Nate, a husband-and-wife team looking to travel to 100 countries by 2019. Nate is also an expert in travel hacking.

3:58 - Hayden and Nate discuss what works for them - planning, or not planning, as well as what plans to stick to while you travel and which plans you can ditch. They also talk about why bucket lists are so important to Nate.

9:47 - Hayden asks Nate to discuss his and Kara’s vlog and their travel goals. Nate explains how they came to this point, why they wanted to do it, and how they pull it off.

14:04 - Nate brings up accountability, which Hayden believes is a vital part of not only your travels, but of your lives. They also talk about documenting their life and accessing that nostalgia later.

Kara and Nate were visiting Siargao in the Philippines, where they decided to rent a motorbike that they did not know how to operate. Though they did manage to reach their destination, they found a sign that caught their attention and decided to follow the directions for an adventure. This, inevitably, brought them to a cave, where the journey then swept them up and brought them somewhere they could never have anticipated.

26:58 - Hayden and Nate break down ‘The Cave’ and how many elements of the story Hayden thinks are so important, starting - of course - with the motorbikes. Hayden takes full advantage of this moment to tell a story of his own.

30:54 - Hayden brings up the topic of trust, as well as discussing who you should trust during travel and how to know you can trust your own decisions. Nate relates his own feelings of trust to his gut feelings. Again, Hayden takes advantage of this in order to tell another story about himself, from Saigon.

35:51 - Hayden brings up travel hacking, which Nate appears to be a guru of. Nate offers advice on where to start with travel hacking, what travel hacking means, and what would make a good first ‘hack,’ including what you can do by signing up for just one credit card.

40:26 - Nate talks about the course he’s developing titled ‘30 Days to Becoming a Travel Hacker,’ where he can share his years of travel hacking knowledge. They then start to talk about mistake fares, which Nate explains for Hayden and the audience.

Charlotte Ahern joins Hayden from her current home base in Vancouver to talk travel, life, Justin Bieber and Terminator 2. They deep dive into some of the more interesting aspects of life, such as why it's a good thing to be rebellious, living somewhere full time and whether it's a good idea to sometimes not take the road less traveled.

Charlotte Ahern also brings her story, entitled 'Cheating Death in Lao', documenting the time she had a crystallising epiphany about life and death alike. Sometimes we don't appreciate what we have until it almost gets taken from us, something Charlotte Ahern knows very well.

Learning how to live a life that is exclusively yours versus the life that you believe you are supposed to live is an essential part of your growth, not just as a traveler, but as a person. Britany Felix has taken a long road to living her life as she wants to, but she has made it all the way to being the person and traveler she wants to be. Her message is to live unconventionally.

Britany joins Hayden from Colorado, at the base of the Rocky Mountains. She talks about compromising on settling down when you travel with others, how to have adventures without traveling very far, and how to live your life the way you want to. Hayden brings up how he creates a checklist in order to decide what he will and will not do. Britany also shares the story of her own life, and how she did research on the life she wanted to live and how she grew to achieve her dreams.

Britany also brings her travel story, the aptly-named “Parisian Roller Coaster of Emotion,” in which she weaves the tale of her first trip out of her home country, to France. While she and her new husband were there, they immediately encountered several unfortunate incidents, then a few positive experiences, in a true roller coaster of highs and lows, ups and downs, a tumultuous ride through their Parisian vacation. Britany used the experience to teach herself how to use the negative emotions that come with such unfortunate events like these ones.

Becoming the person you want to be is a long road, but, if you do not take the first step on the path, you can never reach your destination. Britany is living proof that, with the right research and journey, you can be the traveler - and the person - that you want to be. All you have to do is live a little unconventionally.

In this episode, Hayden and Britany Felix discuss:

Traveling full-time versus traveling part-time. Hayden asks Britany how to compromise on settling down when you travel with partners or other companions.

Finding adventures in the place you grew up in or the place that you were in at the moment. You can travel all over the world, because you never think of the place you are in as being a destination, but everywhere is a foreign place to people who are not from there.

The concept of living your life the way you want to, not the way you are supposed to. Hayden brings up how he makes up a checklist to decide whether or not to do something.

How to free up your life and to feel the freedom and happiness that adventurers who share their stories, like Britany, feel when they travel.

Traditional ways of living, and how to incorporate your life with your desire to travel. Britany shares her personal story of how she was able to achieve her dream of traveling and adventuring, and how she made herself happy through research.

Britany recommendsThe Art of Non-Conformity,by Chris Guillebeau, the book that really sparked the change in her.

Britany’s story, which takes place in Paris, France, and which she has titled: “Parisian Roller Coaster of Emotion.”

In Britany’s story, she traveled out of country for the very first time to France, where she encountered armed security guards, a bomb threat, missing luggage - and that was just in the airport when she first landed. After that, only one thing after another just kept going alternatively wrong and right, taking Britany and her new husband on an emotionally tumultuous ride, all the way through to the very last day of the trip. She sees the trip as a true example of what travel is all about, through the highs and lows and the education the experiences give you.

How to take the highs and lows of your travels and turn those experiences into real adventures, as well as how to pull those events into your personality and work them into your further travels. Britany discusses how to deal with negative emotions when traveling.

Britany’s travel podcast, Living Unconventionally. Britany sums up her elevator pitch with her tagline: she interviews people who have ditched their traditional lives to chase their passions around the world. They also discuss her personal life and her own travels.

Group travel, and how Hayden and Britany view traveling solo versus traveling with others. They also talk about how spontaneity, schedules, and appreciation of an adventure can be affected by who you travel with and what your travel plans and research are.

Britany’s upcoming courses, which you can receive the first wave of if you join her Facebook group, Living Unconventionally Community, which you can find linked below, with other ways to find and contact Britany.

Living on the road is the dream, the goal for many, but not for all. Everybody on the planet Earth is wired differently, and those varied wirings apply to every area of life, including travel. Figuring out how to live on the road, though, is a huge step on the way to learning how you, personally, are wired, regardless of your circumstances. Frank Salas, who prefers the title of The Talented Mr. Salas, joins Hayden to discuss the paths available to becoming an entrepreneur and a nomad like he is.

Frank Salas is a serial entrepreneur and a digital nomad, who came from humble beginnings to become the Talented Mr. Salas that he is today. He joins Hayden to talk about how he first started on his path, as well as offering a peek into how he lives day-to-day now that he has reached this point. He also shares how he accomplished what he has achieved, and how commitment and discovery were enormous parts of his evolution. Frank also explores how to make your budget and funding work for your travel adventures.

Frank also comes to share his story, a tale with the appealing title of: “The Cancun Kidnapping Scare.” Frank recounts, in humorous, frightening, and vivid detail, the taxi ride he was taking in Cancun that seemed to go down a terrifying path. Once his driver started saying ominous statements into a walkie talkie, Frank started to panic, forming an escape plan, struggling to find an out. After a miraculous escape, a falling out, a call to his mother, and an incident of stalking, Frank eventually learned a lesson about Cancun.

Starting yourself on the road to travel and adventure is one of the most difficult tasks a person can undertake. That level of commitment is not something taken lightly. Luckily, folks like Frank Salas, who have true “rags to riches” stories and the strength to back up their stories, are here to help those who want to travel find their way onto the right path. Living on the road is not easy to start doing, but, if you are wired for a nomadic life, it is the next best step.

0:56 - Hayden introduces Frank Salas, serial entrepreneur and digital nomad, who came from humble beginnings to become the Talented Mr. Salas. Frank talks about how he first got the idea to become a digital nomad and the resolution he actually followed through on, as well as giving a look into his lifestyle.

10:07 - Hayden asks Frank about how he managed to make his digital nomad and traveling life happen. Frank discusses comfort, commitment, discovery, and anxiety related to traveling and starting your adventure.

Frank was on a ride when he realized the driver had locked the doors and gave a terribly ominous message into his walkie talkie. The drivers in the cars next to him were frightening, as well, and Frank automatically started to panic. He executes an entire plan on how to escape, which was nearly thwarted by a phone cable. A call to his mother escalates, the driver of the car will not leave him alone, and Frank learns a lesson about Cancun.

24:21 - Hayden and Frank break down Frank’s story, talking about what was going through Frank’s mind when this all went down.

26:47 - Hayden and Frank explore how you can make the shift to funding yourself on the road. Frank offers some life hacks that apply to budgeted traveling and saving on expenses, as well as tips on becoming a digital nomad and/or an entrepreneur.

33:14 - To help listeners take the first step, Frank and Hayden offer websites, groups, and opportunities online, all of which can be found in the links below.

35:52 - Frank leaves the listeners with a final message, telling of his own “rags to riches” story and how he built himself up. He offers inspiration, opportunity, mindset, and a life lesson, all wrapped up in one fantastic bundle of a message.

Allowing yourself to be vulnerable in any situation is not easy, but, in order to make complete connections with others, it can be very necessary. Granting yourself the freedom to be vulnerable gives you a freedom when traveling that is totally unparalleled. Hayden invites Leon Logothetis, an adventurer, motivational speaker, philanthropist, host of the television series Amazing Adventures of a Nobody, and author of The Kindness Diaries, to discuss vulnerability and kindness when traveling.

Leon’s twin passions are kindness and helping people nurture their inner rebel. He and Hayden discuss that inner rebel and how it can be coaxed out into the open, as well as what drives Leon to be kind and what motivates him to be empathetic to others. Leon also talks about how he puts himself out there when he travels, and how vital that vulnerability is.

Leon also shares his travel story, titled in an excessively British way as: “The Ham Sandwich.” It is accurate in its grimness, as it ominously leads into Leon’s bad omens in Panama and experiences traveling to Ecuador. Besides a rough-and-tumble encounter with the locals, Leon also has a dangerous experience on board a boat that was entirely unexpected, and possibly feature a ham sandwich as an unlikely catalyst.

Though making yourself vulnerable is an exceedingly difficult task, it is vital to completing your travel experience. Without that openness and willingness to connect with others, you cannot totally engage with your environments as you travel. Allowing yourself that vulnerability makes both you and your adventures well-rounded.

1:20 - Hayden introduces Leon Logothetis, and the two of them discuss everyone’s inner rebel and how that inner rebel can be nurtured and coaxed out into the open.

5:43 - Hayden asks Leon about what gives him the drive to commit acts of kindness and what his motivations are. Leon discusses the role that empathy and putting yourself in another’s shoes can play in your life and in your travels.

Leon went on an adventure to Panama, where he immediately had a rough experience with the locals, which he took as a bad omen for things to come. The captain of the ship he then traveled on was too forceful with him regarding their food choices, which Leon tried to sneak around by requesting a ham sandwich. What happened to him afterwards, though, on the way to Ecuador, was dangerous and completely unexpected.

14:49 - Hayden and Leon break down Leon’s story, how the story lived up to its title, and how the ham sandwich affected - or did not affect - his journeys in North and South America.

15:48 - Leon talks to Hayden about how to put yourself out there when traveling, and how being vulnerable and showing that vulnerability is vital when with others in order to completely connect with them.

20:19 - Leon discusses Live, Love, Explore, his new book about discovering the life you were meant to live; he calls the book both a travel memoir and a self-help book.